Open House for Farm Emergency Planning is Feb. 9

Friday

Feb 1, 2013 at 6:36 PMFeb 1, 2013 at 6:44 PM

Ionia Conservation District and Portland Fire Department will assist with drawing up written plan

Karen Botakaren.bota@sentinel-standard.com

Having a plan for what to do on a farm in case of fire and other emergencies can help avoid loss of life and property. To assist producers in managing a variety of risks, the Ionia Conservation District and the Portland Fire Department will host a free Farm Emergency Planning Open House from 10 to 11 a.m. Feb. 9 at Bader & Sons John Deere dealership, 6018 E. Grand River Ave., in Portland.

Portland firefighters and Rachel Koleda, Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP) technician for Ionia County, will be on hand to discuss various farm emergencies, assist with writing farm emergency plans, provide emergency tubes and answer questions. Refreshments and snacks will be provided.

Emergency planning, and making sure that first responders have access to emergency information, is a critical and often overlooked part of farm safety, said Koleda. The purpose of the open house is to get producers thinking about less traditional emergencies.

"A lot of people think about fire. But what if you are at the top of a grain bin and have a heart attack?" she said. "Or if you are transporting milk and there's a problem with the truck and you have a spill? Milk in a stream can cause a fish kill really quickly. If your tractor catches fire in the middle of a field, what are you going to do?"

Participants will be able to ask questions about their own circumstances. They also will have an opportunity to fill out a template for an emergency plan, print and laminate it, and put the plan in an emergency tube, which can be placed on the property. First responders know to look for the tube when they answer a call to a farm, Koleda said.

"The emergency plan includes basic contact information – for the land owner or the farm owner, the utility companies, doctors – numbers that, when you are freaking out, you don't want to go rummaging through to find," said Koleda.

The plan also should include "the big things," such as the location of pesticides, fertilizer and fuel storage, which firefighters want to know immediately in case of fire for their own safety, she added. Location of ground water in case of a pesticide or manure spill, and what to do in the event of either, is another component of the plan.

"The Portland Fire Department will work with anyone from the Portland area to go over an emergency plan," said Koleda, "People in other areas can write up a plan and, over coffee someday, can talk to their fire department or local emergency management department so they can know what is going on in that site."

Koleda said both the conservation district and fire department are encouraging the creation of a emergency plan because it helps save lives and money, Koleda said.

"If first responders are coming, and you have several hundred thousand dollars of equipment in a closed barn, they might not be worried about getting that equipment out," she said. "If they know where the big machinery is stored, they will try to save it if they can."

For further information about the Feb. 9 open house or farm safety planning, call Koleda at 616-527-2620, ext. 113.